How to Take Creative Risks and Win w/ Craig Black | Ep 386

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Futur with Chris Do

Episode 386: How to Take Creative Risks and Win w/ Craig Black

Release Date: October 4, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Chris Do sits down with Scottish visual artist Craig Black to explore the power and necessity of taking creative risks. The wide-ranging conversation charts Craig’s journey from professional soccer player to typographer to internationally acclaimed artist and entrepreneur. Listeners gain candid insight into the failures, pivots, and bold gambles that defined his path—culminating in the invention of his acrylic fusion technique and collaborations with some of the world’s leading brands. The discussion also explores the emotional dynamics of risk-taking, the importance of self-initiated work, balancing commercial and creative aspirations, and the power of family support.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to Craig Black and Acrylic Fusion (00:13–05:52)

• Background & Artistry:
  Craig introduces himself as a visual artist from Scotland, working with global brands and collectors using his unique acrylic fusion technique—an experimental way of blending paints on diverse surfaces. His wife Ali manages their studio and they travel the world with their daughter, Olivia.

• Notable Project:
  Chris asks about the viral Porsche car collaboration.

  • Craig explains that instead of pouring paint directly onto the car (which raised concerns with Porsche), he created a large-scale canvas artwork, photographed it in high resolution, and then used those images to wrap the car.
  • Craig (01:54): “Porsche reached out to us and says, can you pour paint on our car? ...I had to think how I could apply my artwork to that car...So my artwork was then wrapped onto the car.”

• The Role of Breathwork in Art:
  Craig reveals how breath subtly shapes his pieces, getting intricate blends impossible to achieve with tools like a straw or hairdryer.

  • Craig (04:05): “I use gravity, the physicality of moving paint. But for intricate detail, I use my breath... those blends that happen organically are so beautiful that I can’t physically recreate in any other way.”

2. The Soccer-to-Artist Transformation (08:14–21:24)

• Early Life Aspirations:
  Craig shares his lifelong dream to be a professional soccer player—driven by family and a deep love for the game. Evenings off the pitch were spent drawing soccer-related items.

  • Craig (09:42): “When I couldn’t play outside, I’d get my paper and pens out and draw soccer boots...everything football-related, but in a creative sense.”

• Crucial Mentor Encounter:
  After leaving soccer due to frustration and lack of fulfillment, a chance meeting with his former art teacher (Paul Murray) reignites his passion for art. Paul returns Craig’s old portfolio, having kept it safe for years, ultimately encouraging him to pursue an art and design college course.

  • Craig (14:13): “He said to me, Craig, you were crap at football anyway; why don’t you go study art and design?”

• Design Career & Lifelong Dreams:
  Craig details the eventual blend of his two worlds: designing the typeface for his boyhood team, the Rangers Football Club—a childhood dream that tied together his creative and sporting past.

3. Reinvention, Taking Risks, & Birth of Acrylic Fusion (25:05–34:19)

• Pivot After Success:
  Having reached the pinnacle of his typographic career, Craig chooses to pursue his ambition to become a full-time visual artist. The leap is inspired by a random encounter with paint patterns on his wife’s gym leggings!

  • He throws himself into experimenting with paint pouring and eventually develops his signature acrylic fusion technique.

• The Footballs Project:

  • To launch his new identity, Craig embarks on a self-initiated project: pouring acrylic fusion art onto footballs (soccer balls) representing countries in Euro 2020. He documents the process with a professional content team despite limited resources.
  • The gamble pays off. The project’s viral success brings global attention and commissions from UEFA, the Premier League, and FIFA.

• The Calculated Gamble:

  • Craig and Ali use nearly all their savings to fund the content and materials for the football project.
  • Craig (34:50): “To bring this to life, it was going to be a huge financial risk... I just knew it was the right thing to do and I did it. And it literally, three days later, my first client was UEFA.”

4. Practical Advice: How to Break Through as a Creative (39:54–44:55)

Chris and Craig distill the episode’s lessons into actionable insights for listeners:

Craig’s Keys to Creative Breakthroughs

• Have a Unique Selling Point:
  Develop something distinct and authentic to you.

• Produce Outstanding Content:
  Invest in high-quality photography and video to showcase your work—think about how brands could use your assets, and make it easy for them to envision collaboration.

  • Craig (40:16): “If the brand can envision using these assets, it makes their life easier.”

• Be Bold in Outreach:
  Don’t hesitate to contact potential clients or feature your work on multiple platforms and media outlets. Overcome fear by sharing your work widely.

  • Craig (42:33): “If I didn’t have the bravery to send [my work]... it may have not happened.”

Chris’s Additional Takeaways

• Tap Deep Passions:
  Align your work with things people are genuinely passionate about, like sports or culturally significant events.
• Think in Campaigns, Not One-Offs:
  Plan extended content and storytelling, not just individual projects.
• Time Your Work With Cultural Moments:
  Use newsworthy or emotionally charged contexts to increase impact and visibility.

5. Balancing Creative Integrity with Commercial Success (45:36–48:33)

• Studio Philosophy & Family Values:
  Craig and Ali intentionally keep their business small to maximize family time and maintain authenticity. They turn down offers to scale into a large “art factory” to preserve creative control.

  • Craig (45:36): “We value family time more than anything... I also think that's very, very important to the consumer and to whoever's buying the artwork—like, you know, that came from my hands and that means more to me than anything.”

• Personal Definition of Success:
  For Craig, fulfillment comes not from financial gain or scale, but from happiness, creating with loved ones, and traveling together as a family.

6. The Next Generation: Legacy and Support (48:33–49:38)

• Advice for His Daughter:
  If Olivia, his daughter, decides to abandon convention and chase a wild idea at 18, Craig’s stance is unequivocal:
  • Craig (48:56): “Go all in. Whatever she wants to do in this world, I’m going to support her no matter what, because that’s the support I got when I was younger.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Craig Black (14:13):
  “He said to me, Craig, you were crap at football anyway; why don’t you go study art and design?”
  [On his mentor steering him toward his true path.]

• Craig Black (34:50):
  “To bring this to life, it was going to be a huge financial risk... I just knew it was the right thing to do and I did it. And it literally, three days later, my first client was UEFA.”

• Craig Black (49:38):
  “Feel the fear. It’s real. Do it any way.”

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Important Timestamps

• 00:13 – Craig introduces himself, the acrylic fusion technique, and his studio dynamic
• 01:54 – The Porsche project and technical art application workaround
• 04:05 – Breathwork and its role in Craig’s painting process
• 08:41 – Transition from professional soccer to creativity
• 14:13 – Paul Murray’s pivotal mentorship moment
• 21:24 – Childhood love of typography and realizing a dream project
• 25:05 – The pivot from design to art, invention of acrylic fusion
• 34:50 – The all-in risk: using family savings for the football art project
• 39:54 – Practical advice for creatives breaking through
• 45:36 – Balancing creative work with commercial opportunities and family values
• 48:56 – On supporting his daughter’s future dreams

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Final Reflection

Craig Black’s story is one of reinvention, putting family first, and listening to that persistent inner voice. The episode’s core message—feel the fear, do it anyway—is delivered with warmth, Scots humor, and practical wisdom, leaving creative risk-takers and entrepreneurs both inspired and grounded. Craig’s success is rooted in deep authenticity, focused creativity, the willingness to gamble and fail, and the quiet, crucial support of loved ones.

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Find Craig Black:

• Instagram: @_craigblack
• LinkedIn: Craig Black
• TikTok: @_craigblack
• Website: craigblack.com

Transcript

[Chris]

We share stories about transformation and reinvention. And then I come across Craig, and he's had some interesting shifts in his life and, well, I won't tell you about him. Why don't you introduce yourself, Craig?

[Craig Black]

My name is Craig Black and you're listening to the Future. I'm a visual artist from Scotland. If you can't tell from this accent, I'm best known for my specialist technique, acrylic fusion, which is a unique way of blending acrylic paints together to create interesting and mesmerizing effects on almost any surface. I run my studio alongside my wife, Ali, who is the managing director, and so essentially, she's the boss of my life. And together we travel the world with our little girl, Olivia, and collaborating with global brands to bring their visions to life through product and brand activations that elevate their campaigns in bold and creative ways. And alongside our commercial work, we create bespoke artworks for galleries and private collectors, blending creativity and craftsmanship to create one of a kind pieces that captivate and inspire.

[Chris]

So in case people haven't checked out the Instagram account, I'm going to describe to you what I see and then you tell me, oh, no, that's not it. I see you mixing paints in little plastic cups and a whole bunch of paints. It's a bit messy, right? There's a lot of hands getting dirty. And then what you do is, through a process of selecting what paints and what layers, you start to build things up. And the acrylic paints mix and then they create fascinating patterns and colors and swirls and things of that nature. Now, I saw something with a Porsche that had this design on it, and I was thinking, wait, did he pour it on a Porsche or how did you do that? What happened there?

[Craig Black]

Well, that was a fascinating and amazing project. So the original brief to that project was Porsche reached out to us and says, can you pour paint on our car? And I said, yes, I can. But as a disclaimer, paint could seep into the engine and make it not work, and it could be a bit of a problematic thing. So, Porsche, depending how you pronounce it, yeah, they didn't really like that idea, of course, so I had to think how I could apply my artwork to that car. So what I did was I created an original artwork which was on a 60 centimeter by 60 centimeter wooden MDF board canvas. Got my little cups of paint and I poured them on top of this canvas. This did my technique using blends of using my breath to create all these things. And We've got a super high res camera to take this image in a bird's eye view of the artwork. So when you blow up, you can see all the details. And I worked with an external partner to wrap the car. So my artwork was then wrapped onto the car using my artwork. And that's how we all brought it to life.

[Chris]

I see. Ah, the mystery has been solved. Because I was thinking when you're dealing with objects, you can control it via gravity and it's going to blend a certain way. But with a car, you can't pick it up and rotate it. Because I was like, how do you get it all around the edges like this? I knew something had to be up there.

[Craig Black]

No, just to say on that point, a lot of with my work, it's quite physical. So I literally left canvases and large tables and stuff like that. So they were originally thinking to me, is there any way that we could rotate this car? And I was like, if we can put the car on a large turntable and get cranes and stuff. But I don't think that's going to work. So, yeah, that was quite an interesting way of not doing it anyway.

[Chris]

Yeah, that would have been really cool to see though, on a giant crane where you're controlling that, that would be cool. Okay, I know now there's something that you mentioned that maybe our audience didn't pick up, but there's something about breath work and how you actually inter influence or guide the pain to go a very specific direction. Tell us a little bit about the breathwork stuff.

[Craig Black]

So what I was. When I'm doing my acrylic fusion technique, it's a constant process and I'm constantly finessing. And what I've found is that when I physically have these cups of paint and then I put it on a surface, I use gravity, like you mentioned, physicality of moving paint. But to get more intricate detail details, I use my breath so I get very close to the surface, specifically on flat surfaces that I then blow into, whether it's a blue into a purple or blue into a white or whatever it would be. And those natural kind of blends that happen, those color schemes that happen organically from that are so beautiful that I can't physically recreate in any other way. So that's what makes the artwork so unique in that instance. And being so close and intimate to the artwork as well. And also being that close, you get kind of high on the paint fumes, which is good to an extent, but then you get a little bit dizzy. So I need to be careful of how much breathing I do on it.

[Chris]

Do you ever push your breath through a straw or something to focus the breath or not?

[Craig Black]

I did, I did at the beginning, but it wasn't giving me the desired effect that I was looking for. So. And then we went from a straw using my breath and then like using like a hairdryer and I was feeling. And when you use a hairdryer it's harder to control kind of thing because it goes. So even if you narrow down the funnel of it, it still wasn't as controlled as the way I want it. So they, I can bro, I can blow air hard, soft, delicately and all these kind of factors. It's much more controlled by the way that I do it and I feel like that's the way it works best.

[Chris]

Okay. If you're, if you're listening to the pod and not on the YouTube, you're going to see a bunch of objects behind Craig's head. There's a. I think there are soccer balls back there. Is that what I'm saying?

[Craig Black]

That's correct. That those, those soccer balls are the, the project that started this whole incredible career for me. That's a self initiated project that started it all. And I've had all offers from countless people throughout the years wanting to buy them, but I won't let them go because they're such a prized possession.

[Chris]

Do you make other objects that are for sale? Those aren't for sale, but those are.

[Craig Black]

The only ones that are not for sale. Basically everything else is for sale and that we sell throughout brands and through our shop and private collectors and stuff like that and galleries.

[Chris]

And what are the price ranges for some of these objects that you make?

[Craig Black]

So some of the objects for the soccer balls, for instance, they can range from like 5,000 British, that is. And then the larger scale scuff can go from 10, 15, 25 grand. Also depends on the complexity of the work. Fabrication. If it's a larger sculpture type thing, we're working in larger scale stuff right now, which is getting up to the 50 grand stage, which is quite exciting. 50. Well between 50 and 100 actually, which is quite fascinating.

[Chris]

Large scale, what is that? Like how big are we talking?

[Craig Black]

We're talking to the very recent one that we're working on is one and a half meters wide by two meters kind of thing in, in height kind of thing. And it's a big, large scale. I can't, I can't say anymore soon other than a large scale sculpture or my wife will get me into big Trouble on this one.

[Chris]

Okay. So bigger than a refrigerator, I think, right?

[Craig Black]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Okay, that's. That is pretty big. All right. And these are our private commissions.

[Craig Black]

That one is. That's a private commissions.

[Chris]

Yeah. Okay. Are we in the shop right now or are we.

[Craig Black]

This is. This is a studio in my hometown in Scotland, a place called Enoch. So I've got a beautiful studio in. You will not be able to see it, but I've got this huge window, and you can see the beautiful river and the hills and the beautiful sights of Scotland, usually on a clear day, but right now it's gray skies and raining. So that's a typical day in Scotland.

[Chris]

Yeah. All right, let's. Let's take us back to the start here because we talked about reinvention and transformation. You are the, I believe, if my memory serves correct, the second athlete that's been on our show that is related in the visual arts. So the first one was a professional kickboxer who wanted to win a title in Thai kickboxing. Yours is a bit different. Tell us about your former life.

[Craig Black]

So in my former life, I used to be a professional soccer player. I played in the lower leagues of Scotland, so it wasn't the top end, but I was a professional for five years and. And then honestly, growing up, all ever wanted to become was a professional soccer player. But as time went on, I found it hugely frustrating. And due to opportunities not being there, and it's. No matter how well I. I did in training, no matter how well I did in games, the opportunities weren't coming that I deserved. And it was got to a point where I was just sickened and very, very frustrated by the game that I decided that I got to a point where I was actually very unhappy and I wanted to step away and find my happiness again. And that's where creativity came into it.

[Chris]

How long did you think that this was going to be your thing? When did you first start playing soccer? And then to what point do you get to this place where you're like, maybe this isn't right for me?

[Craig Black]

Well, I've always. I played soccer from. I mean, a very, very early age. Like, older brother played a massive influence on that. He used to drag me to the park and play football or soccer. Sorry. So it was always a burning ambition because when you're playing at that young age, you dream of being like the. The superstars of the game and you're emulating them. So I was like, I want to do that, but what I was doing is kind of. So to give you an example, we used to go to the park during the day and me, my brother and all my friends would play there for hours and hours upon hours. Then my mom was shout from the window, dinner's ready to go home, have dinner. But in the evening it was too dark to go back outside. So what I used to do was get my paper and pens out and I used to draw like soccer boots or cleats as we call it in America. Isn't it cleats y soccer balls, football kits. Like everything football related, but in a creative sense. I was always drawing, but it related back to soccer. And that continued through me from an early age to a teenager and then from high school there was actually. It's probably an interesting story to share. So at the age of 15, the football club or soccer club, sorry, what decided me as a full time professional soccer player? So essentially taking me out of education and to start this career. But there was, there was something in me that felt like I had one more year to go high school. And my mom, who is incredible and most importantly as well is my art teacher, Mr. Murray. I should call him Paul, even though it's weird to call him by his first name. But he had a massive influence in me because he noticed that I had something in talent wise before I even knew it. If you were in my life back then, everyone was like, creep black soccer player. I said it's all it's going to be. But he noticed I had a talent in art and I loved it. Did I feel I had a talent enough? Not at a point, because I was not overshadowed. But this thought of becoming a soccer player was all I ever wanted. But we had a special agreement in place with the soccer team which meant that. Which was uncommon at the time, which I would go train with the first team of the soccer team in the morning and then in the afternoons I would go study art and design in the classroom in the high school. So. But I wasn't part of a typical curriculum. So I didn't have any like classmates. So it was a big massive classroom. And on one side the teacher, Mr. Murray was teaching all his students, then I was on the other side figuring this out all on my own. And he would give me five minutes of his time when he came over and our relationship was so strong, that was very, very direct feedback. Basically going, why are you doing it this? And I would push back. And it was, it was a perfect relationship that I needed in that time in my life. So I came away from high school graduating with the advanced hires what you call it here in Scotland. And then I went and played football for five years without touching art or even thinking about creativity or anything like that. And then I mentioned all the things of not enjoying soccer anymore. And I decided to leave the game totally, which shocked everybody, because I had offers to stay at the club, go to other football, soccer clubs. Sorry, but I had no ambition to do it because it wasn't making me happy. And then I had that pivotal moment where I was like, what makes me happy? And I thought back of art and drawing and all those kind of things. I thought, I love that. So the weird thing is, is the day that I decided to say no to soccer, I went to the pub or the bar, for instance, and the first person I meet after 5 years is my art teacher. Oh, wow. Which is incredible. So I see Mr. Murray and he says, what's happening in your life? So I offload, tell him, hate soccer. Hate soccer. It's not happening for me. I don't know what to do in my life. I want to find my happiness again. And he said these wise words to me, he said, craig, you were crap at football anyway, why don't you go study art and design? And I was like, design? And it was just like a light bulb moment going, oh, like we did back five years ago kind of thing. I was like, I don't even have my portfolio, I don't have anything at all. And he said to me, come to my house tomorrow, I've got something to show you. So I was like, I had no idea what he was talking about. So the next day comes, I've got a terrible hangover. I go to his house and he's like, come in, come in, in. And as I walk in in the house, he walks out with my portfolio from high school and he says to me, craig, I knew you were going to need this one day. I'm a very emotional person and I burst into tears because it meant so much to me and I couldn't believe it. And I was like. And he said to me, I knew that you were going to need this. Go on and do what you were supposed to do. And like a week later, he got me into an interview for a college course for graphic design in Glasgow. And I went into that college course and I absolutely loved the world of creativity design. And that further led me into art. So if it wasn't for my art teacher, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today. So. What a man he is.

[Chris]

An incredible moment. That must have been like, you can't script this kind of stuff.

[Craig Black]

You're totally right. And it was such a pivotal moment. And the weird thing is, also, is we've actually had interest from TV companies about this kind of story. And we've done a doc. I got interviewed for the BBC here in the uk and we caught. We got. I'm going to call him Paul. If it's. Call me Paul. If I remember, I might call him Mr. Murray. It's a bit football. Soccer. Mr. Murray, Paul. He came in for this documentary, Big Thing, and they. Sam in the workshop and because people knew this story and, like, we want to cover this. So he's sitting there, the camera crew is there, and he tells it in his terms. And he's a very strong, proud Scotsman, right? Not as emotional as me. So as he tells it, I'm sitting in a corner, there's a camera crew, and I'm hiding in the back. And he starts talking and I start choking up and he can. And I'm like, making, like, small noises, like, of holding the back of the tears, and he's like, is that Craig crying again? It's like he's always crying. I'm like, oh, no, I want to cry, baby. I don't want to cry, baby.

[Chris]

You said earlier when you're playing with your older brother in the field and it's dark and your mom called you in for dinner, that you wanted to live in your mind, at least the game again. Because if you can't go outside, you can leave it on paper. And it's kind of interesting that you did this in the most unusual way and that you were drawing what you're. What you couldn't be doing outside, because I thought you said you were going to say you came home and you were laying in bed and you're just, like, bouncing the ball inside and causing all kinds of trouble there. But you found creativity as an outlet for that. Now, you said you've been doing this forever, so this is like you're still a young person, right? You're drawing. Do those drawings still exist somewhere?

[Craig Black]

Probably in the darkest depths of my mother's cupboard, somewhere she would have kept them, definitely. And there's some pointing, like kind of hours I've made over the years that she's definitely kept framed. So funnily enough, like, last week we were, like, looking for them. So those sketches is something I'm going to have to find because they've actually played a part later in my life, specifically in my design career. And I'll share it now, actually, So I used to draw the type on the back of shirts. So when I made, like, the football kits, I used to write, like Zidane and Roberto Carlos. Like, these are the players that I idolized. When I was younger, as I was writing these things, it was typography, but at the time I had no idea what type was. Now, my older brother used to. So we support a team in Scotland called Rangers Football Club. So which is massive here. And there's two sides. There's Rangers and there's Celtic, right? Two rivals, but we on the Ranger side. So we used to go to Ibrox, which is a stadium. And I used to dream about being a player and playing on that pitch. But at the same time, I was mesmerized by the football kits and more specifically, the tight on the back of the shirts. So the players that was watching. And it was like, I'm going to rhyme off some players that probably no one's going to know here, but like Gascoigne, Alan McCoy, like, these are like legends and heroes of mine. But I was always mesmerized by who made that type, who made that stuff on the back of the shots. But again, not knowing what typography was. So I always played on me and went from an early age. And then when I'm totally saying tagging here. So just bear with me here. When I went into that college course of graphic design, the first day, we were the lecturer, the teacher was talking about first football. And he says, oh, this. The table on the back of shirt is called typography. And I was like, what typography shirts? And I was like, tell me more. And he was like, yeah, like. And he was going through, like, all football kits and says, this is typography and this is fonts and this. And I was like, that's what I want to do. I'm going to do that. I'm going to figure out how to do that thing. So while I was studying graphic design, I was learning about branding and various elements of other graphic design courses and stuff, which was great. But again, internally, I was thinking about, I want to do this type thing. So I was starting to look at people in the industry who were already kind of doing it in terms of, like, independent designers and typographic artists and lettering artists and all those kind of things. And I thought it was so fascinating and so exciting and exhilarating. I was like, I want to step into this field. So while I was studying, in that time of graduating, I already had a decision in my head that I was going to go on my own to become. Become an independent designer specializing in typography lettering. But I knew that I had to get agency experience and learn from others. I didn't want to come out of uni and just go, I'm the superstar type guy. I'm like, you know, I need to learn. And then I managed. So after two years of agency life, I ended up starting my own studio as an independent designer specializing in typography lettering. But my dream goal that whole time was to do the tight face for Rangers Football Club, that team that I supported growing up. And then five years after starting my studio, I got to create the typeface for Rangers Football Club. And that was in pinnacle of my typographic game. And that meant the whole world to me. And that's a whole different story that I don't speak about it later, but that was that journey from childhood to doing the typhus for Rangers and that encapsulated all those moments of playing football, but also in the creativity side as well. And Brian altogether was such a unbelievable experience for me. Still is to this day. Unbelievable.

[Chris]

How. How old are you when this commission comes in that you're doing this project for the Rangers?

[Craig Black]

I am. I am 36. Six now. And so I commission came in when. That was nearly five years ago. So 31 I was. And. And I was running my studio at that point, or four years, Five years at that point, kind of thing, doing my own thing.

[Chris]

Did you not crumble under that kind of pressure?

[Craig Black]

There's a few things. And feel the fear and do it anyway with moments like that, I'll be honest, Chris, I was like, oh no, this is a magnitude of project. But I'm like, why not me? Why does it have to be someone else? Why can't this guy from a small town in Scotland go on to do the typeface for Rangers Football Club? And then when I started to program my mind to be. And this is something I've been doing for over the years, actually, the resilience and the belief that I can do this. And when I start saying those out, even out loud to myself, then that means that I can do it. And I always think about you go Sabao. That Eminem just came in my head, that one shot, one opportunity. So I thought to myself, I'm going to go into a stadium and I'm going to give it my all. Just the same way that if I was an athlete or I was a football player in that pitch, I would give my all. It's the exact same thing that I do with every single project that I work on to this day, I get my absolute best. And I know I could always hold my head high because I thought I've give everything regardless of what that outcome would be if it's a success or as a failure or whatever, at least I've given my all. And that means more to me than the actual finished project if that means this. So that mindset was a catalyst and I knew if I could, I knew if I could show that passion, then half the battle is one because people buy into people and I think that's a lot that creatives don't realize. They think it's the works enough. But if you're presenting and you know this more that the way that you present and you articulate in the way that you show enthusiasm, you've already got, you're already one and I'll sense that they want to buy into you and then because of that the work not as secondary but it's byproduct of what you do. And I felt like having that and acknowledging that and knowing that internally has been a key to why a lot of things have happened for me down the road.

[Announcer]

It's time for a quick break, but we'll be right back. Calling all designers, illustrators, photographers, content creators, video pros. Want to know more about the latest 3D and generative AI tools? Expand your skills and future proof your career. Adobe Max returns October 28th 30th in Los Angeles and online. Join us for industry defining keynotes and sneaks, fun networking events and more than 200 sessions, labs and photo walks. Learn from the world's top experts. Connect with your creative community and get hands on with the latest updates in creative cloud. Can't attend in person? Join Max online for live streamed and on demand keynote sneaks and select sites sessions. But there's nothing like the full in person Max experience. Listeners of The Future save $400 on a full pass. Use code future25 to register. Visit max.adobe.com to build your creative future. The future will be in booth number 2827. Stop by and catch one of Chris's whiteboard sessions. And we're back. Welcome back to our conversation.

[Chris]

Let's get into the art part. Like where do we go from doing commercial work, commission work for people and then exploring your own visual art.

[Craig Black]

So with the Dead Rangers project to say to end that one like that was the top, right? That was the pinnacle for me and the success of that project led to let's say Premier League Teams and La Liga teams, like bigger teams, and Rangers to our supposedly bigger teams, to commission me to do the typeface for their clubs. I had zero interest because for me, when I was studying, my goal was to do the typeface for Rangers, and I accomplished that. And I always say to myself, internally, once I get to that moment, I'm going to pivot my career and become the artist that I've always wanted to be. Now, becoming a vigil artist is what always wanted to be since I was a kid, like when I was drawing and stuff. But there was the paints, the freedom to experiment and create and create things that were unimaginable at first, and then you'd been brought to life. So the moment of the typeface for Rangers. So we're going back two years, and I'm going to tell you the story of how acrylic fusion was born. So two years prior to the typeface being released, my wife Ali, comes home and she's wearing these pair of gym leggings. So these gym leggings have this crazy pattern on them which resembles acrylic fusion. As she walks into the room, I've kind of. She starts talking to me, and I've zoned out because I'm looking at her legs thinking, how does someone create that pattern? And I say out loud, and she's going, what are you talking about? I'm like, your gym leggings, they're so cool. So I quite. I'm at the desk and I go, you know what? I'm going to go onto YouTube and type in paint mixing and paint pouring. I watch one video, I watch another, and I'm in this endless videos of paint pouring stuff, and I'm like, oh, my God, this is incredible. I want to try this. So I literally run out of the house and I go to the local art store and I buy, like, a rudimentary, like, acrylic paints and pouring medium and a little canvas. And I get back home and this was. This is going back nearly, what, six years ago? Seven years ago. Six. I had my iPhone. I had it over my shoulder, watching my process, and I thought, right, I'm going to. I'm going to try this, and. And I started working on this canvas, pouring cups of paint, and absolutely loved the process. I love the challenge, the problem solving, the instantaneous of it. It took me away from the computer, which I also loved as well. But that getting my hands covered in pain, I absolutely effing loved it, to be honest. And I was like, this is it. That was a moment I was in this two bed. The. We lived in a two bedroom apartment and the spare bedroom was my studio apartment at the time. So I had this canvas on the floor and I thought, this is a thing that's going to change my life. I knew it. I knew it right there. I had this feeling, my gut was telling me, so that's two years prior to the Rangers thing. So what I did for two years in the background is I perfected my craft of acrylic fusion. I worked tirelessly and working on my craft and my process of figuring out this paint pouring. And then along the way I started figuring out a unique way that worked for me which ended up becoming acrylic fusion. When I have devised this technique because technically there's no one in the world doing what I'm doing. I'm doing it. I'm creating a unique selling point in every artwork I create. Regardless of the same canvas, same color scheme, it will be totally different every single time. And that becomes a unique selling point. So for two years in the background, I was perfecting this building up to become individual artist because I knew one day I was going to pivot. At that point, I didn't know Rangers was going to happen. So fast forward two years, I've got two years in the back of practicing. The only person who knew about this was my wife, Allie. Rangers was released now, my daughter was born, Olivia and we had that two bedroom apartment. So I had to I get kicked out of my studio and became her bedroom. So at that point I had to find somewhere to work. So there was either an office space where I could continue doing type or where I'm currently at is I found a studio where I could paint. And as soon as I came in here, and there's a friend of mine who owns the workshop space, he says, I've got this studio, come see it. So I've come in here and right, I mentioned about the window here. He put the shutters up and it was a beautiful sunny day and I could see across the water, I could see the hills. This whole place was a blank canvas and I thought this is it, this is where it begins. So I've decided mentally and I've told my wife I'm ending typography. At the peak of where I was at, people thought was crazy because I actually spoke to three business coaches about this dilemma of wanting to move in and becoming a visual artist. But every one of them said to me, keep both going because it's financially safe and it's better for your. Your Brand and all those kind of things. But I have the mindset of if I want to become a visual artist over here, I need to go all in because I can't be distracted by over here. So I had to cut all ties to focus on our vid here. And that is what I did. So I jumped over here to becoming a visual artist, came into the studio. I've been two years of process development, known how I can do the technique, but essentially I had no clients, no projects, no nothing, no money coming in. So what I thought about is what's happened in my previous career as type is self initiated projects leading to commercial work. I'm a massive, massive believer in and the importance of self initiated work. So that's where the, these footballs in the background came in. So I wanted those moments and the shiver moments and I thought, how cool would acrylic fusion football like be poured onto a football and the bright colors of Scotland. Because at that time Scotland qualified for Euro 2020, which is the first time Scotland qualified for a tournament in 22 years. So it was a very joyful moment. And so I created this football initiative for the first time and I was like, this is incredible, I'm on to something here. I phoned my wife Ali and she was, she was out pushing Olivia in the pram, pouring rain. And I was like, come to the studio right away, I've got something to show you and I should do. And I purposely didn't tell her what it was. Opened the door and she was like, my God, this is incredible. And I thought, you're right, this is, this is incredible. So that was in January 2020 and the tournament kicked off six months later. So my strategic entrepreneurial brain kicked in and thought, rather than just focusing on one ball, why don't I create a series of footballs based on countries participating at the tournament, but also at the same time showcasing the process behind that, largely showing how I create the artworks through videography and photography. And we spent like me and Ali spent like six months bringing this to life working with a videographer who I swore to see because it like don't tell anyone about this project. And then it's six, six weeks worth of content. And the reason why I created this content was very specific to like a brand collateral for like a football tournament. So what I would do is like I would have two footballs beside each other in an image. Scotland v England. And I'm still hung up and tight a little bit. So I created like a tight face and it was Scotland v England. And it was show how my artworks could make an impact on a brand, specifically in a game setting like that. So I rolled out this, a compilation video a week before the tournament kick off which was like showcasing all the footballs being brought to life again. At that moment, no one in the world knew I was becoming. I wanted to announce myself as a visual artist. I had this deep belief that this was going to change everything. And then when I hit play and ascend, there was that little second, I'm not going to lie, cast a little moment going, oh shit, is this going to work? But I thought, no, feel the fear, do it anyway. Send went out to the world and I don't want to say it went viral, but it went everywhere. And literally everything changed from that moment. And it changed my life. But not only my life, my family's life and the opportunities that we have is based on that self initiated project.

[Chris]

Couple things here to unpack. Number one, you basically have a habit, I see a pattern here of doing things that everybody's like, this is what.

[Craig Black]

You should be doing.

[Chris]

No, I'm tired, I'm doing something else. Everyone's like, what? Don't do that, Greg. You're like, no, there's an inner voice, I must listen to it, I must obey it. I'm going to go do this thing. And then you stop. But in the time in which you stop doing client work and go all in on the art because it takes a while for you to perfect it and figure out your own way of doing things. How are you surviving? What are you doing for money?

[Craig Black]

So off the back of the Rangers project and various other projects, we banked enough money to cover me at the start of becoming an artist. Now to give you insight into the financial part of that was actually very scary because we banked enough money for my wife Ali to take maternity from her job. So we had a bunch of money for her. Now I was dealing with the business of my studio at the time. I accounted for one tax account, but I didn't account for the second one. So I had to go to my wife Ali say, see that money that we've saved for the maternity? Like I need to use that pay for my tax bill. And this is in between the January and the June to announcing that project. She's like, okay. But then I started to formulate this idea and vision of how I wanted to do the footballs behind me. And I knew and again, I've never practiced on a football prior to that moment. So I was very much experimenting at the exact same time. And to give you context, I had to buy a blank football, which says, costs like 15 bucks, right? And once I put pain on it, you can't control Z or command Z and go back the way. That's that. So I bought, you see, about seven footballs there, but it was about 50 in total that I had to practice and finesse and all those kind of things. But to bring that vision to life, I am. I hired in a content team to do the videography and photography. So to do that, though, it basically was depleting all of the money in our savings. And. And to give you context, Chris, like, I don't. Like I don't have Mommy and Daddy to. To back me up, right? So I went. I was like, to bring this to life. It was going to be a huge financial risk. Now Ali's off work. I've stopped doing type. I've said, I'm doing. I'm focusing on this art. I went to my wife, Ali, and I says, listen, to do this, I need to use up practically all of the money we've got in our account to bring it to life now on paper. And everyone else will tell you no. And if you tell me no, don't do it like, we've got a family now, we need to protect ourselves. I will step away. Happily, happily step away. I totally believe myself and I know for a fact that this is going to change our lives, but you have the final say. And she turned around and looked at me and says, craig, if anyone can do this, it's you. I believe in you go do it. And I let a fire in me, Chris. I swear, my lack. And I was like a superhero at that point. I was like, come on. So I went to the wire and see the day. The day that I. So you made that six months of earnings, dwindling down, paying rent, mortgage, all that stuff. The day that we launched the compilation video, we had 52 pounds in our joint account. 52 pound. Not knowing what was coming next, right when the next bit of invoice is coming in. But that I. I don't. I don't. It's very emotional because it's such a personal thing. I don't put on anyone else to do that, but I just knew it was the right thing to do and I did it. And it literally, three days later, my first client was UEFA, which is the. One of the top football institutions in the world, who commissioned me to do a TV promo. Shortly after, I was the Premier league. And within 12 months, I collaborated with FIFA, who's the pinnacle of the footballing world. And I went to the World cup in Qatar and everything changed. And I managed to fill, I managed to fill that pot up very, very quickly based on that. So it was a huge, huge risk. But the people around me believe me enough to give me that fire to go on. And I'm so grateful for them to encourage me. Even though on paper it's mental to do.

[Chris]

There's an expression. I changed the expression a little bit. Behind every great man is an even greater woman.

[Craig Black]

Absolutely.

[Chris]

So it's like she's like, I don't want you to do this. And you're like, done. But I want to give you some credit here. You're a good man for saying it the way that you did. They said I have to risk everything to do this, but I will walk away from this right now because there's no guarantees this is going to work. And I'll happily. This is the part that you say, I'll happily do it if you just say no. So that was the most permission based, no strings attached. What would you like to do? Because we have to do this together. And you're a good man, Craig.

[Craig Black]

Thank you.

[Chris]

I'm thrilled for all that's happened since then. Let's do this, though. Let's make this super practical for people because I also don't want to be irresponsible here and say, everybody, pursue your dreams and put everything on credit card and roll the dice and live the dream like Craig did.

[Craig Black]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Because that's not going to work out for a lot of people. So let's do this. What are your three key insights for, for how you're able to break through? I, I know what they are, I think. But so this moment where you're heading all in, you hired a team. There's a big gamble, there's a big cultural event that's happening. You're tying into culture. What are the big three takeaways? If you want to have a shot at something like this, what do you.

[Craig Black]

Think they are for me? And I'll refer it back to that project because that was the breakout kind of thing. And I would say having a unique selling point was a great thing. Creating something that was bespoke and very much authentic to me. And I was very much sharing that with the world. And it came from internally, from me, but also when I'm sharing this, the content of it, it was the highest possible content and quality that I could possibly produce. And I think that was a key as Well, I was basically, I was in the mindset of thinking of the brand, how could they use these assets? So that's why I invested quite heavily into the videographer and the photographer to get the best I could possibly do. Because if the brand can envision using these assets, it makes their life easier. And I felt that was a key thing because every project I've, I've ever done, I've invested in photography and videography and due to the highest possible quality I could possibly do to. Because especially on the self initiated projects. Because if you imagine a brand was on your Instagram, I'm talking to the creatives listening in. If there's a brand looking on your portfolio, then they can envision how their brand, product or activation or what it could be, could be articulated in your style and your vision by the quality of visionary videography, if it's been taken to it kind of thing. And also, don't be afraid of putting it out there as well. Like when I released that project, I double down on it like in terms of using social media platforms such as LinkedIn, which is a massive platform for me, but also Instagram, all the other social media platforms I was using at the time, but also PR and get into blogs as well, doing as much outreach as possible. Don't be afraid of if you've got someone. Like for instance, I sent it personally to the guy at UEFA privately, it says, look at this, I can make an impact on your brand. And he ignored me first, but then he phoned me back three days later and says, you know what, this is too good to ignore. I want to talk to you about this project, but if I didn't have the bravery to send that message to him with the content, it may have not happened. So I'm a big believer in putting yourself out there. And because I think what I've learned from other creatives as well, they're crippled by sharing things to the world and what people may think and, and I can understand it in a certain extent, but you've got to put that aside because if you don't share about what you're doing, how can you expect anyone to see or believe in what you're doing? And that was the kind of mindset I had, that was the, the key takeaways and breakthrough to make that project going forward.

[Chris]

Here are my takeaways. Number one, do something that taps into people's deep passions. People are very passionate about soccer, football, they're very passionate about hot sauce. I don't know why they are. People are Very passionate about coffee. So there's things that you could do for mustard and no one cares. Just no one cares. But if you tap into something that people are deeply passionate about, they're actively looking for, and when they see that you understand them, their souls kind of light up. Number two, thinking campaigns. I love how you are like, okay, we have a certain amount of time and I have to create these assets. And I'm kind of thinking not a one off, but like six weeks worth of content. I could drip out and really build on something. Because a lot of people just think in onesies, they do it once and they'll have a hit and then it's like days or weeks before the next thing happens. And there's. There's power in that because you can leverage your resources to maximum potential. Because you don't want to keep hiring these guys for a day shoot. And then you only do one thing. You want to try and get as much done as possible. The next thing is. You were very good at timing this to tie to a cultural event. This is happening. It's the first time Scotland's made in 22 years or something like that.

[Craig Black]

It's significant.

[Chris]

So even if you don't get global support, you're going to get the local support, and that's very, very important. There's a bunch of other things, too. Like you said, you want to tell stories visually, which you did. You want to create assets that they can use, and you just don't want to leave it up to their imagination. Here's what you can do, here's how you can apply it. It's so easy. You have to be kind of a dummy.

[Craig Black]

There's a book.

[Chris]

It's all don't make me think stupid. It's about user experience, design, and that's true about almost everything. When people have to think too hard, it gives them a headache, and that's going to likely get in the way of you doing something with them. And then everything else hopefully takes care of itself. Craig, we're almost out of time here. I want to ask you one last question. Okay. And you may already have answered this, but you have success in the art world, had success as a soccer player, footballer, and success as a typographer, letter form designer. The inevitable question is, how do you balance your creative integrity with your commercial success so that you don't become like an art factory?

[Craig Black]

We do here at our studio at Studio Cave Black is. It's a lifestyle business. So for me, success is working alongside my wife, Ali, which is amazing. But we get to travel. We take a little girl and travel the world working in these brand collaborations. So we've purposely kept our studio small because we value family time more than anything. So Olivia along has massively helped her development from young toddler and our way that she's been cultured, seeing the world. So we want to bring her and part of our world in terms of creativity as well. So I've had. I'll be honest, I've had offers from investors and stuff, like to create a huge factory of churning out artworks and stuff. But I feel personally that I lose the authenticity of what I'm doing. I also, and I. And I think that's very, very important to the consumer and to whoever's buying the artwork. Like, you know, that came from my hands and that means more to me than anything. And I'm happy with that. Like, I. I don't need. I'll be honest, I don't need multi millions in the bank to justify happiness. I am. I always say I'm the happiest guy in the world right now because I get to do what I dream about doing. And I'm doing it alongside my family, which is great. And that's the most important thing. And also what I've realized is when collaborating with brands specifically is they know that it's me and Ali, and they know you're talking to the artist and you're talking to the managing director. So when I come onto doing a live art performance, they know it's me. It's not a little another team member here who's coming to do it. And it's not quite the acrylic fusion we thought of. So I've purposely kept that intact of where should you. So we're very selective of the projects that we do and make sure that it aligns with our values and the excitement that we want to do. And I'm very fortunate that brands align with those things most, most of the time. And every project we've collaborated on or continue to collaborate on are so varied and different and constant, differently challenges. Don't get me wrong, there's times where we could potentially expand the studio and we bring in people externally for certain projects. But we're happy with that. We're happy with the model we've got right now, saying that maybe in five years time and I might have a bigger studio and more people, maybe. But right now my focus is on, I'll be honest, my little girl. And she comes first and foremost. So that's the most important thing for me is that I don't affect my creative endeavors and goals and challenges and take that away from her. She's part of this as much as anything, and I think that's the most important thing for us, is a studio.

[Chris]

How old is your daughter right now?

[Craig Black]

She is four and she's going to be five in August, which she keeps telling me about every single day, just to reinforce the. Huh.

[Chris]

So I. I know this is a weird question, but let's fast forward. She's 18 and she's like, dad, I have this idea. I want to drop everything I'm doing to pursue this one crazy thing that you cannot even understand what it is. What do you say to her?

[Craig Black]

Go on, I'm fully behind you. Go all in. Whatever she wants to do in this world, I'm going to support her no matter what, because that's the support I got when I was younger. My mum, like, incredible woman. And whether it was football, design, being artists, she's like, all I want to see, Craig, is that smile on your face. Getting emotional saying that. And that's the other one for Olivia. No, more like she keeps saying she wants to be a professional artist like her daddy, which I'm very happy about. But if she decides she wants to go and do something totally different, happy with that. As long as she's happy, that's all it matters for me.

[Chris]

I think that's a beautiful way to end this. I want to reiterate something you've said at least twice on this episode, just so that our audience can hear it. Feel the fear. It's real. Do it anyways. Felt the fear many times, Greg, and it's not stopped you. One time. You're still a young man, 36 years old, still big, beautiful, bright things probably ahead of you that you don't even know about just yet. Not a betting person, but history would have it that you're going to have another pivot somewhere in a couple of years. And we'll. We'll see you at that road. Yeah, whatever that might be. People want to find out more about your artwork in your studio. Where should we send them?

[Craig Black]

So you'll find me on Instagram, which is at Underscore Fake Black. I'm on LinkedIn as well. You can find me Craig Black and I should come up as a visual artist on there TikTok, which I need to double down on, is at Underscore Craig Black. And then you can go to my website, which is Craig Black.